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Four Color Comics: The Little Rascals
Overview Four Color Comics (1939-1962) was a long-running series of comic books produced by Dell Comics. More than 1,000 issues were published, usually with multiple titles released every month. Around 1955, Our Gang creator Hal Roach announced plans to produce a new Little Rascals series. Dell immediately cashed in on this proposed series with a Little Rascals issue for the Four Color series. While Roach's planned series never came about, Dell's Rascals' comics were popular enough to stay in publication until 1962, with a total of twelve issues. The series featured cartoon versions of Spanky McFarland, Alfalfa Switzer, Buckwheat Thomas, Farina Hoskins, and (in the first issue) Pete the Pup. Rounding out the gang was a new character, "Fatso," who (at least judging by the earliest character design) appears to have been based on Chubby Chaney. The remaining characters were made specifically for the comic book series, but many seemed to have been based on characters from the original film series (for instance, the gang's teacher, "Miss Pretty," was likely inspired by either Miss Crabtree or Miss Lawrence). This wasn't the first time Dell produced a comic book series based on the Rascals. From 1942 to 1949, the company produced Walt Kelly's Our Gang Comics series. Unlike Kelly's series, which was often adventure-based, the Four Color series took on a more cartoon-like approach. Interestingly, some of the stories in the Four Color series were reworkings of Our Gang shorts. Characters The Little Rascals * Spanky - Spanky is still the leader of the Gang in the comic series. But unlike his film counterpart, the Spanky in this series seems to be more of a worrier, often finding himself in trouble. However, Spanky still showed clever leadership abilities. * Alfalfa - Alfalfa seems to have taken on more of a leadership role in this series, sometimes even switching roles with Spanky. Alfalfa seems to be more of an idea man, often coming up with schemes that get the gang in trouble. Unlike his off-key singing film counterpart, the comic book's Alfalfa poorly plays the violin. This likely had to do with difficulty in capturing Alfalfa's original singing in comic book form. * Buckwheat - In at least one early issues, Buckwheat is referred to as "Farina" (while Farina remained nameless). Buckwheat is the smallest of the group, but always tags along, gladly taking part in the gang's adventures. * Farina - In at least one early issues, Farina was a nameless character, while Buckwheat was referred to as "Farina"). Like Buckwheat, Farina mostly tags along with the gang, always taking part in the adventures. * Fatso - A character that seems to have been based on Chubby Chaney, Fatso is a jolly, heavy-set kid with a big appetite. * Unnamed girl - The front cover of the first features an unnamed little girl, who was likely meant to be a regular character in the series. It's possible that she was intended to be Darla Hood (though the caricature bears a resemblance to Dorothy DeBorba. * Billy Goat - The gang's pet goat. He pulled the gang's handmade wagon around town. * Pete - Pete only appeared in the first issue of the series. He mostly tagged along with the kids. Recurring Characters * Toughie McGurk and the Pirates - A group of neighborhood bullies, and the Rascals' arch rivals. McGurk, who was likely based on Butch, is a redheaded boy with an extremely tall derby hat. It's possible that the character was also based on "Toonerville Trolley"'s Mickey (himself) McGuire character. Interestingly, in one comic, Spanky refers to Toughie as "Toughie McGuire himself". * Waldo Worthington - A rich kid, and a good friend of the Rascals. Despite the fact that the character's name is "Waldo," he seems to be based on Wally Albright, rather than Darwood Kaye's Waldo character. Waldo will often leave his life as a spoiled rich kid to play with the Rascals. He also frequently invites his friends to wealthy engagements, much to the dismay of his mother and her employees. * Mrs. Worthington - Waldo's mother, who doesn't like her son to play with the Rascals. * Miss Pretty - The Rascals' attractive, blonde, kind-hearted teacher. She seems to have been based on Miss Lawrence. * Mr. Grumble - Or "Old Vinegar Face," as Spanky calls him. A grouchy, greedy man who often gets his just desserts from the Rascals. Grumble was initially the head of the school board, but later became the Rascals' school principal. He also briefly substituted for Miss Pretty. The character is reminiscent of actor Clarence Wilson, who portrayed several grouchy characters in the Our Gang film series, including Mr. Wilson, Mr. Crutch, and Mr. Pratt. * Aunt Matilda - Alfalfa's aunt who often pushes her nephew into taking interest in art and culture. Aunt Matilda is often grouchy, especially whenever she finds Alfalfa hanging around his friends. However, she acts relatively calm whenever Alfalfa (supposedly) takes interest in her preferred activities. Matilda was initially depicted as a skinny character, but was quickly redrawn as a heavy-set character. * Alfalfa's mother - Usually seen in stories involving Aunt Matilda. In some early stories, she seems to behave similarly (though more sanely) to Aunt Matilda, scolding Alfalfa for hanging out with the Rascals. However, she seemingly became even more of a sane character, mainly playing straight-man to Aunt Matilda. Like Aunt Matilda, she was often gladdened to see her son (supposedly) take interest in artistic activities. * Spanky's sister - Spanky's unnamed younger sister, whom he often got stuck babysitting. * Spanky's parents - Made a few brief appearances in the series. Spanky's mom would often leave Spanky to babysit his younger sister. Issues Trivia * The comics are not to be confused with the Our Gang Comics. ---- Category:Our Gang Merchandise Category:Our Gang Revivals